(Originally published March 10, 2016 on https://athf3.wordpress.com/)
Act Now! Tell OMB to reject EPA proposal to increase allowable radioactivity in drinking water following nuclear emergency
March 9, 2016
Dear Friends,
EPA has quietly proposed to raise the allowable levels of radioactivity in drinking water to hundreds of times their current limits following a nuclear emergency. The Safe Drinking Water Act establishes Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL’s) for specific radionuclides. But now EPA has proposed allowing people to drink water with concentrations of radioactivity at vastly higher levels with no actions taken by government to protect people.
Click here to demand that the Office of Management and Budget reject this ridiculous proposal and that EPA withdraw it from consideration!
EPA has proposed these new drinking water standards for its Protective Action Guides (PAGs). The PAGs would apply to any release for which a protective action might be required. Under the new proposal, no actions to protect the public would be taken even if radioactivity in drinking water were dozens or hundreds of times higher than Safe Drinking Water Act levels. This would force the public to use contaminated water containing dangerous levels of radioactivity far beyond the current standards. The drinking water PAGs would not be for the immediate phase of an emergency, but for the intermediate phase–after the release had stabilized–and lasting up to several years.
Look no further than the current water crisis in Flint, Michigan to understand concern that the EPA will not act to protect public health in an emergency. In this case, the EPA is attempting to ensure that it would not have to act decisively to protect public health!
Click here to demand that the Office of Management and Budget reject this ridiculous proposal and that EPA withdraw it from consideration!
There is no specific deadline for this action, however it is believed that OMB intends to act quickly on it, so please take action now, and please spread the word to your friends and colleagues.
Thank you for your activism,
Diane D’Arrigo
Radioactive Waste Project Director
dianed@nirs.org
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
nirsnet@nirs.org
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